Thursday, January 31, 2013

I've been using Watts Beauty products for a little over a year now. I didn't want to put them on the blog until I used a full bottle of each, stopped using them to see if there was any perceivable change and then started them back up again.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

It contains three workouts plus an Instructional. The first workout is called Warm-up Workout. It's only 16 minutes, done on the floor and feels wonderful. I did it on a night when I was feeling tight and my low back was feeling stiff. It loosened up my low back and relaxed me. This would be great before bed, first thing in the morning to get moving or when you're feeling stressed. Yum!

Next is the Level 1 Instruction. It's different to other instructionals in that it only covered PBS, Plies, Jazz Twist, Scare Crow Ski, and Hoe downs. You can do the entire segment or choose an individual movement to work on. I appreciate this because I don't always have the time to do a full instructional but I like to choose a movement and work on perfecting it. You might say, "Hey, you're a trainer. Shouldn't you have perfect form already?" In answer I'd say that form isn't static, It changes with changes in our body. My very best form today might be different than my form was a week ago or will be a month from now depending upon what is going on in my life or my body.
I honestly feel that this segment will help anyone improve their understanding of form and their own form in any of the T-Tapp dvds. Teresa talks about the "path of least resistance." I often say that the body is like water, it will take the path of least resistance and this is why postural distortion will only deepen over time if we don't address it. She shows us the most common mistakes and how to avoid them and likens them to the body taking the path of least resistance.

Level 1 Workout is up next. It's available as a straight through or again as individual movements. It's an hour and 7 minutes long and feels very clinic-like to me. I did this workout Sunday and WOW! There were so many light bulbs going off in my head I don't know where to begin. This is in my opinion one of the best workouts Teresa has put together to date. The muscle activation tweeks it contains are genious and really work! I'm basing this on my body's response.

I've had a vertebra slightly off kilter. It just wasn't giving up. I had a massage on Saturday and it felt looser but not totally realigned. During this workout I felt the movements rebalancing my spine and then suddenly I felt and heard snap, snap, snap and my neck and upper back popped into place. SWEET! At the end of my workout my left hip (again prone to going out since a decent fall down a stairway last year) felt like it wanted to crack. I just went about my business and sure enough within 15 minutes of finishing the workout it too popped back into place.

The movements are done slowly enough and where necessary repeated enough times to pull the body back into alignment. The workout looks deceptively simple but it's very effective. My core became very warm, my T-shirt wet, my bra drenched and it was only the first time I attempted it.

I bet there will be some question as to whether or not this is a full body workout. I can only say that my lower body was whipped from holding my form. Actually there wasn't an area that wasn't whipped. I ended up taking a nice detox soak post workout and really appreciated it!

The final workout is Tempo (4) Workout and runs almost 48 minutes. I haven't done this one and won't for a while because I want to work on the Level 1 workout and Health Hormones MM in order to have a rock solid understanding of this new form and the movements before I do a straight through workout without form reminders. I'll come back and update this review once I try this workout and add to my comments. I did actually try this but forgot to link to my review. You can find it HERE.

I'll also post more about the new form elements and why I am so amazed my them. They are simple and yet achieve so much where muscle activation is concerned.

On the face of it you might think that this is much easier than previous workouts but you would be wrong. I find the muscle activation to be vastly superior. In case you didn't figure it out already I'll tell you that I definitely give this DVD 2 thumbs up! You can purchase it HERE.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

"I tried T-Tapp and had good results at first but then my results slowed and I never seemed to lose additional inches." OR "I tried T-Tapp and had good results but it got to be sooooo boring!"

I hear these statements or read them on various fitness boards quite often.

T-Tapp as a health and fitness practice delivers a ton of benefits. In return it also asks more of participants than many more traditional fitness practices.

That said, it's possible to simply show up and do a T-Tapp workout and get benefits. That's what was mostly likely happening in the first quote above. WAIT! Before you get all prickly and say, "I was doing more than just showing up for my workouts!" - let me explain my second point.

In the second example it could be that the Novelty of T-Tapp wore off. Whenever something is new there is a sense of novelty and expectation that surrounds it. Workouts are no different. When a workout is new - especially when that workout is totally different than anything we've done before - we tend to pay more attention to what we're doing. Once the Novelty wears off.....not so much. When we return to it a second time there is no sense of novelty and hence our concentration - even though we don't realize it - is not as intense.

Novelty helps assure that you're doing more than just showing up for your workouts. It also helps beat back a sense of boredom or at least makes it worth doing the workout even if you do secretly find it a bit boring.

So what can you do to keep changes coming and push away boredom? Show up but be present. By being present: instead of simply repeating the movements with Teresa take the time to really stop and feel what those movements feel like in your body.

Listen to Teresa and her form tips, take them to heart and feel how your body responds. Which areas rebel, which areas respond, which areas tire first and which areas are stronger than when you first started.

Get yourself a thin door mirror. I like door mirrors because they are harder to become totally dependent upon than a full body mirror. Check your form from the front and the sides - both sides because one will undoubtedly be different than the other.

Now you're using your brain! This is the mind/body connection of T-Tapp and I can't begin to tell you how good it is for your brain but it's just as good for your spirit.

Finally - don't expect to work out this deeply day after day after day. This is where I see people build up a huge dread factor and end up falling off their program. This level of deep concentration and responsiveness isn't sustainable on a daily basis for longer than a bootcamp. But get this - daily T-Tapp beyond a bootcamp isn't necessary. The results will come as long as you show up, be present and use your brain every other day or even every third day. On alternate days you can walk or do other cardio. Remember that T-Tapp works from the inside out. Your body needs time away from T-Tapp to process your previous workout.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Puppies do better with a schedule. I go to work early so the pups and I get up at around 4:05-4:15 am. It's amazing that I almost always wake up before the alarm but I do. :)

Pups are toileted - they are doing so well in this area - especially given the fact that it's winter and CCCCCold! Then we stoke the fire - again because it's CCCCold - about 25 below zero. Then I load their food puzzles and they anticipate while a cup of tea steeps. Then it's into the TV room where they play with their toys and chew their bones while I T-Tapp. They are used to this schedule and will often head to the next destination before asked to follow me.

At first they would only allow me enough time to do a few moves, then they graduated to Basic Workout Plus. These days it's "Healthy Hormones Menopause Management."

By the time I get I get to T-Tapp Twist I give them the first food puzzle. Teresa says the words "T-Tapp Twist before we actually do the movement. Today when she first said those words, Fionn looked up from where he was busily chewing his toy, walked over the desk where I put the filled puzzles and barked as if to say, "She said it! She said it! It's puzzle time!"

I guess you had to be there......

I'm really enjoying this DVD! This is my second bootcamp using it, During my first bootcamp I actually lost 3" off my ribs! We'll see what happens this time. I reviewed it previously and you can find that review HERE.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

You can find the interview HERE. This is a great interview where Teresa talks about T-Tapp and the concept of full muscle activation. She also discusses inflammation and why overtraining is counter productive. The interview may take a moment to download prior to playing but it's worth the wait - especially if you've never heard Teresa speak on the subject before.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

I've been pondering the idea of doing a program that would be designed to decrease my inflammation levels. Eating foods that tend to decrease inflammation, doing exercise that decreases inflammation, stress reduction would all be part of the program. I want to see how my body will change as inflammation decreases. I'll be improving my health from the inside out.

T-Tapp is a no brainer for the exercise part of the program. I also already have the stress reduction and for the most part the eating well part covered. So when the 60 day T-Tapp challenge rolled around I couldn't resist.

So far the biggest challenge has been getting the 5 required "before" pictures taken without any sign of a puppy or dog in them.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

"The End of Diabetes" written by Joel Fuhrman, MD is available both hardcover
and kindle
editions.
I'm reviewing the hardcover edition.

This is a great book! It's packed full of useful information that is backed up by major studies. There are about 19 pages of notes/citations at the back of the book.

Dr. Fuhrman doesn't treat diabetes. He helps his patients eradicate diabetes and heart disease. Rather than knives and medications Dr. Fuhrman and his patients use food and exercise. Reading the description makes it sound as though the diet would be way too strict for most people to follow. Once I started preparing recipes I began to think otherwise.

There are about 50 recipes in the book and while I haven't tried them all I have sampled a good number of them. There wasn't a recipe that wasn't easily prepared and really tasty. I don't eat processed foods and I don't eat salt so salt-free wasn't a stretch for me. But get this! My - for the most part veggie hating - DH tasted everything I've thus far prepared and enjoyed it all! As I said previously, I'm no stranger to Dr. Fuhrman's way of eating. I've been making his Anticancer Soup for years. I blenderize it and DH sucks it right up despite his dislike of veggies. Please note that many of the recipes are simplified if you use a vitamix or other powerful blender.

There are also very impressive case studies. There are no before and after pictures but I believe you can find those on his website.

The part I liked the very best was Chapter 9; The Six Steps to Achieving Our Health Goals. In this chapter Dr. Fuhrman helps you make a plan designed to stack the deck in favor of success where his lifestyle change plan is concerned. He doesn't promise you a rose garden. He tells you that it will take time to retrain your taste buds and that you will probably have some food cravings in the beginning. He also outlines the benefits of healthy lifestyle and gives you hope.

Despite the title, I really believe that anyone, diabetic or not, could benefit from the nutritional information this book provides. I highly recommend it.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

This Article is about using nutritional excellence to prevent or reverse disease. I've experienced this where my allergies are concerned. When I eat a planted based diet making careful selections with their anti-inflammatory effects in mind I hardly even know I have allergies.

Yep, food can be medicine.

Quickly adding links to two other posts that site sources that use nutritional value versus calorie, fat content, etc. to give food a grade.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Exercise designed to realign the body is as powerful as medication. I'm not talking about exercise meant to beat the body into submission but exercise designed to rejuvenate the body and in essence turn back the clock.

Our body was designed to move and when we limit our movement or even when we use less than full range of motion on a regular basis we starve our joints. Our joints don't have a pump like the heart to pump synovial fluid. Movement works as a pump bathing the joins in synovial fluid, the life blood that nourishes the inner joint surfaces. Less movement or achieving movement with less than full range of motion means that the synovial fluid isn't pumped as efficiently, which means that the joint isn't as well nourished.

Pretty much the same could be said about lymph and our lymphatic system. The contraction of muscles during movement pumps lymph through out body.

We all know that exercise that increases our heart rate and breathing pumps blood and moves air in and out of our lungs but we seldom think about lymph and synovial fluid.

The body will always attempt to bring itself back into balance - homeostasis. Rehabilitative exercise helps the body reach a more balanced state. Team up massage therapy with rehabilitative exercise and you get even faster results through synergy.

The amazing thing is that exercise and massage therapy do no heal the body. They simply allow the body to heal itself. Add nutrient packed eating to the mix and you'll have trouble finding something more powerful and health giving.

My challenge to you is to think about how well the movement you do daily and the foods you eat support your body and help it maintain balance.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Over the years as I've continued to read and study the body a repeating theme is always present no matter what the study source. That theme is the body's ability to regenerate if it's given the proper tools with which to work. One of those tools is without a doubt food.

The following videos are perfect examples of this ability.

So if food is so powerful, why don't we all just eat the foods that will support health improvements?

Emily Boller has some compelling thoughts on this. I think she is right on track.

It's interesting that even when we're really ill, most of the nation will not move to a higher level of nutrion - often because they "just want to eat like a normal person." To that I guess I'd say, "We are what we eat!" and also the new normal is diabetes, heart disease, cancer and arthritis. Normal? NORMAL? No thank you!

My challenge to you is to examine your eating habits and your health. Are your eating habits supporting higher level health and wellness? If not, what changes are you willing to make to move to that level of wellness?

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Powerful piece on the word "pretty.". Please note" there is a bit of language if that will offend. She talks about the word "pretty" having so much impact for a word that contains only 5 letters of the aphabet and people get hung up on that. Yes, there are 6 letters in the word, pretty but it only contains 5 different letters of the alphabet.

Friday, January 11, 2013

"You can have anything you
want if you will give up the belief that you can't have it." - Robert Anthony
I believe this. It's easy to say that we don't have this or that because we aren't as lucky as someone else or others get all the breaks but I truly believe that those are just excuses. The thing that doesn't work is having a pie in the sky desire and not being willing to put in the time and work it takes to reach it.That's where goal setting and well thought out action plans can make all the difference. Starting on small wants and building upon success also helps. My challenge to you is to pick a small desire and use goal setting to plan how you will reach that desire - THEN REACH IT!Hint: You can click on the goal setting label for more info.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

This review refers to the updated Kindle Version
of Eat to Live
. I had a copy of the original book and either lost or loaned it out because I can't find it. Therefore any differences between the original and updated books that I note are from memory not direct comparison.

There are several recipes in the book that are updated. The two most immediately recognizable to me were the "Chocolate Smoothie" and the Anti "Cancer Soup" because both recipes remain favorites of mine. I don't remember the chocolate green smoothie being in the old book. I do remember the smoothie recipe I linked to from his website. I make a variation on it. It's my favorite green smoothie because it gives me a hit of cocoa.

The soup recipe used to have you just put the whole veggies into the juice but now he mentions chopping them. I love the convenience of making a big pot of creamy veggie soup flavored with split peas and not having to do more than clean and cut the veggies minimally because I pureed the soup in my vitamix after it's been cooked.

The updated book also seems to have more success stories and pictures with the stories. Missing are some processed foods - like butter buds - that I remember from the original.

The charts from the book don't translate well in my Kindle Version but I am reading it on an app rather than a real kindle so perhaps that's why.

Dr. Fuhrman's diet consists of non- processed, nutrient rich food and is very very strict but if you can follow it, the diet works. The success stories speak for themselves. Back when I attempted to follow it verbatim I found that the arthritic pain in my fingers completely disappeared and my one pretty swollen misshapen finger joint went back to normal. My fingers have remained pain free as long as I continue to eat plenty of greens on a daily basis. (According to Dr. Fuhrman greens are anti-inflammatory.) This is especially impressive when you realize that I'm a massage therapist who has no pain in those joints that used to ache so very badly.

Long term being a vegan left me exhausted and with a borderline low B12 level despite supplementing. Hindsight, I think there were some other reasons (including not completely kicking caffeine to the curb) for my constant hunger, while following the plan. I also gained weight.
It ends up that by adding a small amount of animal protein I seem to do a whole lot better.

To his credit Dr. Fuhrman realizes that not everyone is going to want to forgo all animal products and gives those who do not a plan.

The basic template of his plan is quite simple and the recipes I've tried - most of them - are great. I really never eat processed food and eat very little salt and so I don't mind the lack of salt in his recipes. Someone who is wedded to processed or fast food is going to have to go through a taste bud realignment in order to get to a place where they find Nutrient Density palatable.

This book gives a great explanation of what nutritional excellence looks like and how to achieve it. The book also adddresses the benefits of nutritional excellence in a way that is easy to understand.
I highly recommend the book!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Fionn and Fionna are doing really well with their puppy training. This picture speaks for itself. I took it Sunday night 24 hours after I started teaching them to sit.

They won't listen to the command to sit if they are excited but genuinely seem to enjoy practicing with their big brothers, Hutch and Reilly.

I took this picture after I put them into a sit. To their credit they held the sit while I fumbled around with the camera trying to quickly take the picture. The first time we practiced the pups where between Hutch and Reilly but Fionn started chewing Hutch's tail and you-know-what broke loose.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

I got this recipe from the American Institute for Cancer Research's website. I test drove it over the holidays - two batches. I made one batch with whole wheat pastry flour and the second with gluten free flour and both turned out great.

The recipe makes a small amount of icing (about half of what the picture shows) but the amount is sufficient to add a nice sweetness to the finished product. I tend to like cupcakes over regular cake because they are portion controlled.

The recipe is a bit labor intensive so I don't know that I'd make them all the time but then we don't typically have desserts in the house other than holidays and special occasions so it works for us.

Monday, January 7, 2013

It's just over a week since we picked up Fionn and Fionna and I'm amazed at how far we've come in one short week.

We've established a wake, eat, play, sleep schedule and it's working pretty well.

Hutch and Reilly are not only tolerating them but seem to be fond of them and keep tabs on where the puppies are at any given time. The four of them interact all the time now. Quite entertaining!

Potty training is going really well. Fionn will squeek out a few drops any time you ask him to do so. He lives to please. Fionna will usually squeek out a few drops, not because she lives to please but because she wants the praise that she sees Fionn get for having done so. We have an in house grid style doggy potty and both will seek it out but we keep tabs on them and toilet them often.

Lazy puppy play

Fionn and Fionna will both reliably come when called so they know their names.

This is the very best! They are learning to sit. They mimic Hutch and Reilly. Fionna doesn't like ot sit on command - she has already established that she is the "Queen" of this household - but she does it - again not to be left out.

Starksy the cat is taking this all in his stride. He is always present; watching and read and has begun interacting on a limited basis with the pups. Hutch and Reilly both keep an eye on things and pull the pups away if they get too aggressive with Starsky.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

We just received our first delivery of pet food from PETFLOW. Their service was suggested to us by our breeder. I ordered Orijen food for the pups on Sheila's recommendation. We make Hutch and Reilly's food from scratch and we'll eventually put Fionna and Fionn on the same raw diet but the Orijen kibble is packed with great stuff. We decided to give Starsky a try on the Orijen for cats kibble.

So back to why petflow is so great. I ordered on New Year's eve and our order was still delivered by January 2nd! Plus if you order $49.00 worth of products their lightening fast shipping is free.

We're going to set up an ordering schedule and have all our pet kibble and kitty liter delivered. No more lugging huge bags or waiting for the specialty pet food we prefer to arrive once we special order it.

I also just had to order one of their "Spoiled Rotten" pet gift boxes. It contains $40.00 worth of products and treats for $24.99. They arrive monthly and I'm not sure we can take advantage of that frequent a delivery but you can cancel at any time so I thought I'd give it a go and see.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

"There is only one success -
to be able to spend your life in your own way." - Christopher MorleyThis quote makes me think about how we can choose to define what success means to us just as we can choose which battles are worth fighting. There was a time when I didn't define anything as a success unless it was pretty much perfect. I'm sure you can imagine just how little success I saw in my life. These days I also don't need an entirely perfect life in order to define my life as successful. There are always going to be things I wish I could change and yet can't. I try not to waste my time worrying about them. As long as I have a few life goals that I'm moving toward I'm a happy camper. My challenge to you is to identify what success means to you.

Friday, January 4, 2013

I've talked about the fact that even our cat Starsky likes Reilly. Every time I see the two of them interacting it amazes me. Starsky will play chase with Hutch and for the moment he tolerates Fionna and Fionn but he seems to genuinely like Reilly. I can't help but think that there is a message to their unconventional relationship.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

I personally do not believe that this study means that we shouldn't eat fresh fruit because it
contains fructose. I do believe that it shows us that consuming foods and drinking beverages sweetened with fructose - especially high fructose corn syrup - isn't a good idea. It just goes back to natural state food being more nourishing compared to processed foods.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Puppy teeth are sharp and Fionna could definitely benefit from some bite inhibition training! She's earned the nickname puppy shark. Hutch was the same way as a puppy and we successfully used the information on Sheila's page on bite inhibition to train him out of the habit. Reilly was much easier to train because Hutch taught him bite inhibition as they played and rough housed together.

I would have never believed it but Hutch has become the leader and caregiver of our pack. He still watches over Reilly even though Reilly is an adult now. Reilly will often clean Starsky the cat's face and ears and Starsky allows it and even seems to enjoy it but if Reilly gets too persistent Hutch will step in and pull Reilly away by the tail. It serves two purposes. Pulling Reilly by the tail physically moves him back a few inches. It also distracts Reilly who then chases Hutch.

Well, caregiver Hutch is stepping in again. This time with Puppy Shark Fionna! Below are a series of pictures (hopefully pretty much in order) that I snapped of Hutch and Fionna playing together. Hutch instigated the session by moving close to Fionna and then rolling onto his side and then back. The play session alternated between sweet, soft interaction and sharp rebukes when Fionna would bite too sharply. It appears that Hutch is baring his teeth and biting her but in reality his bite is extremely soft and often doesn't truly land on her. We won't expect Hutch to do the job on his own because Fionna needs to know it's not ok to bite anyone but it's so endearing that he is taking on the task.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

It was a very short adventure because it's cold here. The pups were only outside for a few minutes but they got a chance to experience what it feels like to wear a coat and Fionn managed to roll into a snow pile and cover himself head to toe in snow. (I didn't catch that on the video but you can see all the snow on this sweater.)

Getting Ready to go Outside

This is a picture of Fionna in her coat and Fionn in his sweater. (Hand me downs from Hutch to Reilly and then Reilly to the pups)

This is a short video of their time outside.

I promise to get back to regular wellness blogging soon but for the time being we're preoccupied with pets.

About Me

I'm a very eclectic and energetic being. I'm also intensely spiritual but pretty private about it.
I'm a Board Certified, Licensed Massage Therapist. I'm certified in Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques for the relief of pain. I'm also Certified Medical Exercise Specialist and T-Tapp Trainer.
I hold various Wellness and Wellness Coaching Certifications. I'm a Registered Nurse but no longer work in the medical field. I have 20+ years experience in Cardiac Rehab, heart healthy eating and Employee wellness.